What is it about?
Self-defence in international law is mostly discussed and analysed at the state level. This represents only part of the picture however. This article seeks to explain how the rights of personal and unit self-defence feature in the ability for states to defend themselves.
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Why is it important?
Focusing at the state level skews our understanding of the right of self-defence and creates a disconnect with what is happening for military personnel on the ground, at sea and in the air. It results in a fragmentation of international law. This article seeks to offer some unified thinking so as to bridge the current disconnects.
Perspectives
I hope that this article contributes to the debate regarding connecting legal theory with what is happening in the real world. Writing it has helped me conceptualise the right of self-defence in a very different way. There is a lot more that may be said on this topic, but hopefully this is a good start.
Dr Chris O'Meara
The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: The relationship between national, unit and personal self-defence in international law: bridging the disconnect, Journal on the Use of Force and International Law, April 2017, Taylor & Francis,
DOI: 10.1080/20531702.2017.1313525.
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